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The Injury-Prevention Training Guide

Dying to know how to prevent injuries? Here are the best exercises for your body to stay injury free.

by
Ben Musholt, PT

Getting hurt sucks. Sprains, strains, tendonitis, and even broken bones are all consequences of living an active and athletic lifestyle. Luckily, with the right knowledge and preparation, many injuries can be diminished or entirely prevented.

There are two classes of injuries: traumatic and cumulative. Traumatic injuries are those accidents that happen in sport or daily life, such as rolling your ankle on a trail run or crashing your bike on the morning commute. Cumulative injuries relate to tissue damage that occurs over time as a result of repetitive strain. These types of injuries creep up and may be a function of poor posture, faulty movement patterns, or improper training.

The best practice for preventing injury is General Physical Preparedness (GPP). General physical preparedness training is the first concept to understand when talking about injury prevention, especially for trauma. It means maintaining a baseline of fitness so that you can respond to physical challenges without harm. The following list has the five main GPP areas you need to improve:

1. Flexibility

Ensure that all major joints, including your spine, have full range of motion and sufficient muscle length.